“I’m very happy. I’m very excited to be here and to be back with my people, and this is another fight. This is another fight that will go down in history. And I’m very happy to be joined here by all my people. With the promotions and all the back and forth, it’s become personal. It’s a fight that all the fans and all the media have been waiting for for years,” he told the crowd at the MGM Grand.

“I can assure you that I will do my part and I will do my best to give you all a beautiful fight. The most important thing for me is victory. I always prepare myself to give the best. I want this for my people, my team, for my country. And that’s what I’m going to do this Saturday. I’m going to go in there and win the fight. I prepared myself for the knockout. Look, anything can happen in this fight. But that’s what I’ve prepared for – to knock him out.”

But the Kazakh, the reigning WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight champion, hit back saying, “It’s amazing to be in Las Vegas. But the bigger thing is the fight is finally here. I am Gennady Golovkin until I walk into the ring. And that’s when I turn into Triple G. It’s not that I’m mean, or angry. I’m just more focused. This is the perfect fight for fans. And the perfect fight for me. I will enjoy it.”

Golovkin is well aware that Saturday will be the defining moment of his career. “I’ve wanted him because of the Cotto fight when he became the mandatory challenger. I’m old school. I think there should just be one champion. All my career I’ve been denied the fights I’ve wanted [like Felix Sturm, Sergio Martinez, Miguel Cotto],” he said. “That ends Saturday night.”